In offering a broader range of study, this program intentionally makes interdisciplinary connections between biblical studies and the humanities. An emphasis on cultural formation encourages students to contextualize their own culture in face of increasing globalization and intercultural dialogue. Students will also benefit from developing valued research, critical analytical and effective communication skills, preparing them for advanced university, seminary and graduate level education.

Why Humanities?

Bible as the Foundation

As you prepare for intercultural ministry we believe that it is important to know the living word of God.

Learning in Community

We believe that your educational journey is best when you have faculty and peers that support you. Prairie is a place where everyone knows your name and cares about your growth as an individual.

Best Semester

Students are strongly encouraged to take a full semester of the program abroad by applying to one of the Best Semester programs offered through the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.

Do you have questions? Let's chat...

Enns_James

Rev. Dr. James Enns

PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Rev. Dr. James Enns

James holds a B. Ed. and an M.A. History from the University of Calgary, and a PhD History degree from the University of Cambridge. He taught high school Social Studies, English and Bible for fifteen years before joining the faculty of Prairie College as a history professor in 2000. James enjoys the breadth that studying the Humanities and Social Sciences brings to theological training that prepares students for a broad array, of vocational and educational possibilities on graduation.

Humanities

All courses are three credits unless shown otherwise.

Bible & Theology (45 credits)

NT 112 Reading the Gospels and Acts

In this course, students are introduced to the story of Jesus Christ and his earliest disciples as told by the four Gospels and the book of Acts. Students will grow in their understanding of who Jesus is as well as in their ability to interpret the bible by attending to its literary, historical, and theological character.

NT 221 Reading Paul’s Letters

This course is an introduction to the life and letters of the apostle Paul. Students will gain a basic understanding of the historical, literary, and theological characteristics of each of Paul’s letters, and in the process will further develop their skills in attentive and critical bible reading.

NT 351 Reading Hebrews to Revelation

In this course, students are introduced to the book of Hebrews, the Catholic epistles (James, 1, 2 Peter, 1, 2, 3, John, Jude), and the book of Revelation. This course will focus on the ways in which the earliest Christians navigated the eschatological tension between the first and second comings of Jesus. In the process, students will gain further understanding of the historical circumstances of Christians living in the late first-century Roman empire, as well as extend interpretive skills development (esp. literary analysis, canonical integration, history of interpretation, and theological appropriation).

OT 112 Reading the Torah

A study of the first five books of the Bible, focusing on the historical, literary and theological features of these books as well as establishing a strong grounding in Torah principles as preparation for interpreting the rest of Scripture.

OT 221 Reading the Historical Books

A study of the books of Joshua, Judges, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings and Ezra-Nehemiah in their cultural, historical, and literary setting. Brief interaction with Ruth, Esther, and 1-2 Chronicles as they relate to the books associated with them. Focuses on interpretive and contextual issues, historical setting, cultural concerns, and their relevance in developing a strong biblical theology in today’s world.

OT 343 Reading the Psalms and Wisdom Literature

A study of Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs, focusing on historical, literary, and theological features of these books with special emphases on Hebrew poetry and ancient Near Eastern Wisdom literature.

OT 453 Reading the Prophets

A study of the Latter Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve), with Daniel and Lamentations, focusing on developing sensitivity to the historical, literary, and theological dimensions of these books. Class time will include discussion of the relevance of the prophetic books for contemporary critical issues.

ST 105 The Christian Quest

The Christian life is the experience of God drawing us into a relationship that is nothing less than the believer’s participation in the life of God through union with Christ. This is the Good News (i.e. Gospel) that takes root through sola scriptura (Scripture alone), solus Christus (Christ alone), sola fide (faith alone), sola gratia (grace alone), and soli Deo gloria (glory to God alone). The transformative participation in Christ and His purposes gives this present life value, direction and hope. The believer is called to the quest of faithful discipleship in this participation and engagement with Christ.

The course is an exploration of and involvement in that quest. You will be challenged toward intentional participation in the life of God through your faithful discipleship response to His person and work. The content will explore a Christian spiritual theology and practice of participation with Christ. The theological approach to this participation is as a transformational relationship with the triune God in which you have both responsibilities and privileges. The course is designed to stretch beyond a cognitive/intellectual exercise and therefore you will be encouraged to actively engage in whole-hearted participation with God, both inside and outside of the classroom. The desired result is that you will know God more deeply, relate to Him as one intimately known by Him, and desire to make Him known to others.

TH 100 Introduction to Christian Theology

This course introduces students to the biblical, doctrinal, philosophical and historical “big picture” outlines of the Christian faith. The course aims to equip students with the skills to develop a Christian mind by assisting them in constructing a theological foundation for thinking and dealing with life’s most important issues. This course will also enable students to begin to think theologically and to construct a Christian worldview for the edification of the community of faith and to the glory of the almighty God whom we serve.

TH 210 The God of the Gospel

A systematic orientation to the center of Christian theology—the life of the Triune God. This course will cover the doctrines of God, Trinity, Christ, the Holy Spirit, and Revelation. It will also consider questions of method, including the sources and norms of theology. The discipline of theology will be approached as a practice of the church, both local and global, carried out for the benefit of the church’s life, its proclamation, and its service to the world.

TH 313 Creation to New Creation

The purpose of this course, following TH 210, is to provide a systematic orientation to the second half of the field of Christian theology—God’s creation. This course will cover the doctrines of creation, humanity, sin, salvation, church and last things. The discipline of theology will be approached as a practice of the church, both local and global, carried out for the benefit of the church’s life, its proclamation and its service to the world.

BT 409 Word and World

This course focuses on helping students bring the living Word of God to the world and the church in effective and creative ways. A significant aspect of the course is to address important issues in biblical, historical and theological exegesis. In addition, the course would also help students develop a broad theological and practical framework for the ministry of the Word of God within the modern world and the life of the church.

Bible and Theology Electives (9 credits)

Arts & Sciences (39 credits)

HF 111 Thinking & Writing

This course focuses on a variety of aspects of academic research. The student will critically assess a variety of sources that mostly pertain to the task of apologetics. The primary focus of this course is research and writing, and the secondary focus is apologetics. This means that the student will assess, analyze, summarize, and review source documents that pertain to apologetics. The student will learn how to write academically and how to properly paraphrase source documents in order to enhance their critical thinking skills. Additionally, the student will be familiarized with the library and information literacy. In sum, this course is designed to introduce the student to the task of sound research and proper academic writing.

HF 231 History of Western Civilization I

This course covers, in survey fashion, the events and themes which make up the early part of the story of the western world. The chronological range extends from the period of the earliest known ancient near eastern civilizations through to the end of the medieval period (mid-15th century) in Europe. While related historical events in other parts of the globe will be used as reference points, the primary geographical stage will be the regions of the Middle East, the Mediterranean basin and the wider European subcontinent. The course focuses on key events, people and ideas which played a formative role in developing this collective entity referred to as Western Civilization.

HF 232 History of Western Civilization II

This course picks up the narrative of western civilization where HF 231 left off. It covers the period from the late Middle Ages to the late 20th century. Two key questions which the course raises and then seeks to answer is: 1) what is modernity? and 2) how has it formed western civilization and then the world beyond the west? Or, to put it another way, ‘how did The West become The West?’ While using political events as the primary reference points in mapping the historical narrative, the course will also explore a variety of other cultural events, people and movements which shaped the modern age. These include: religious/philosophical ideas, especially as they are expressed in art, architecture, music and literature; developments in the fields of science and commerce; and key social institutions/practices. In addition to studying these developments through the writings of academic historians, students will also have an opportunity to practice the craft of producing an historical account of their own.

SC 230 History and Philosophy of Science

This course surveys the historical development of scientific thought, primarily in the western tradition, from its origins in ancient Greece to the twentieth century. While the course does examine major figures and their scientific achievements, it does not do so in the context of “science as the inevitable march from primitivism to progress,” i.e. science as the continuous accumulation of knowledge and mastery of the natural world. Rather these events will be studied in the context of the prevailing worldview or philosophical paradigm which provided the framework for scientific inquiry and discovery in various cultural periods. As such particular attention will be given to the interplay between philosophical-religious and scientific ideas.

SS 170 Christianity in the 21st Century World

This course describes and analyzes the range and nature of Christian expression around the world. This will be done in three ways: 1) by briefly describing the four main streams of Christianity evident today; 2) by examining the variety of expressions of indigenous Christianity in the various geographical regions of the globe, and major challenges Christians face in each region; and 3) by getting a brief introduction of how Christianity spread from its Hebrew roots in Palestine to becoming a global faith which is known today as World Christianity (Christianity whose agenda is no longer determined by churches in the nations of the West). The underlying question for Christians living in the West is, ‘What is our place and role in this recently altered global landscape of Christianity?’ This course will offer some possible answers to that question.

SS 210 Introduction to Psychology

In this course students will study the fundamental principles of human behavior and cognitive processes. Students will learn to recognize and interpret various psychological theories and approaches, apply basic psychological principles and strategies to contemporary issues, accomplish a research project involving a major psychological concept and work cooperatively with classmates to begin to formulate an integrative approach to psychology.

SS 261 Leadership Foundations

This introductory course will assist in nurturing leadership character, convictions and competencies. The foundational content will explore a theology and philosophy of leadership, investigate the formation of a Christian leader and survey the primary tasks of leadership. Building on this foundation, you will receive contextualized training for the specific leadership ministry in which you will be serving during the academic year. You will be challenged toward becoming a godly influencer of others.

AS 400 Integrative Seminar

The purpose of this seminar is to aid students in the process of bringing faith, learning, vocation, and ministry into a coherent way of life. Any understanding of such a life is always worked out in reference to the vital questions and concerns of our cultural moment, as well as the enduring, universal questions faced by each successive generation. Students will study a range of cultural theologies from a variety of vocational perspectives and then present their own theological findings on a topic pertinent to their vocational future.

Arts and Sciences Electives (12 credits)

Arts and Sciences Elective 300 Level or Higher

Humanities (21 credits)

HF 403 Humanities Directed Study

This course is a combination of seminar and individual tutorial in which students will be required to develop a research topic, identify the key authorities on the topic and their respective interpretive positions and articulate their own critical response.

HF 406 Humanities Research Paper

This course is a combination of seminar and individual tutorial in which students will produce a research paper based on the topic of study and their findings from HF 403. In addition to interacting with the key authorities on the topic, they will be expected to integrate their position on the topic as a critical response to their research findings. In writing their paper students will need to clearly articulate both thesis and methodology being used in presenting their material. In addition to submitting a written essay students will also have opportunity to present a summary of their paper in a seminar forum.

Five courses from this list:

HF 244 Introduction to Philosophy

HF 334 Christianity in the Ancient and Medieval World

As the title indicates, the content of this course deals with the story of Christianity’s growth from a small Jewish sect to a global faith movement. Beginning with the New Testament period and proceeding through the 14th century this course will examine the significant events, personalities and cultural issues which played a role in defining and spreading the Christian faith.

Lecture material interspersed with some classroom discussions will cover both the institutional development of the church as well as the practices and missional spread arising from the bottom-up social context of community life and migration. A dominant theme of the course is examining how the Christian community of each generation and culture dealt with the tension between what historian Andrew Walls identifies as the “indigenizing principle” and the “pilgrim principle”: i.e. translating or accommodating the gospel message to the contours of specific cultures it penetrated, while at the same time speaking prophetically in calling people to a kingdom-of-heaven counter-cultural way of life. In summary the course looks at the history of Christianity as it simultaneously confronts and finds a home in the cultures to which it spreads. The Christian story is one of global migration; however, given the constraints of time this course will focus primarily on the events in the Near East, North Africa and Europe.


HF 335 Christianity in the Modern World

This course covers the history of the church, in both its western and global expressions, from the period of the Reformations of the sixteenth century to the beginning of the twenty-first century. Particular attention will be given to the theme of Christianity as a missionary faith which moved across cultures and adapted to different settings, while at the same time transforming the cultures into which it moved. A second theme will be that of stagnation and renewal through church and para-church initiatives. Course content is a combination of theological developments painted in broad brush strokes and more detailed sketches of particular people and their practices who had a notable influence on church life and Christian cultural engagement.


HF 336 Experiencing History and Cultivating Historical Consciousness
HF 430 Topics in History
TH 343 History of Christian Thought I

A study of Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs, focusing on historical, literary, and theological features of these books with special emphases on Hebrew poetry and ancient Near Eastern Wisdom literature.


TH 344 History of Christian Thought II

General Electives (15 credits)

  1. Demonstrate a grasp of the foundational concepts in History, Philosophy, Sociology and Psychology
  2. Analyze primary texts in History and Philosophy in their historical-cultural contexts.
  3. Practice the academic skills of library research in finding primary and secondary source documents.
  4. Show competence in identifying and summarizing scholarly arguments, and identifying presuppositional commitments in scholarly works.
  5. Develop written and oral communication skills in presenting their own scholarly research.
  6. Cultivate a theological understanding of the subject disciplines in the Humanities core.

Admissions Requirements

Academic Admissions Requirement:

  • A minimum average of 60% in five grade 12 courses.
  • A minimum of 60% in English 30-1 or 30-2.

For Homeschool students and applicants outside of Alberta please visit our Steps to Apply page.

Christian Life & Testimony:
Prairie College requires that students demonstrate a Christian life and testimony in order to effectively participate in our Christ-centered community. Applicants show evidence of meeting this requirement in the following application items:

  • Personal Testimony
  • Spiritual Reference
  • Declaration for Admission

English Language Proficiency:
Applicants whose first language is not English must show proof of English Proficiency. See International Admissions Procedures for more information.

For our Tuition & Fee rates as well as Room and Board please see Fees & Financial Aid

Program Specific Costs:

The third year of Intercultural Ministry is GlobeTREK. This year include additional costs above your tuition and fees. The cost is dependant on internship choice, travel, health insurance, vaccinations, food & accommodations. 

Canada & United States Application

Winter 2025 (January start), Fall 2025 (September start) and Online Education (start anytime) applications are open. 

International Student Application

Prairie welcomes applications from individuals all around the world! To begin the International Student Application please click the link below. 

Master's Application

If you are applying for the Master of Christian Ministry Leadership or the Master of Global Christian Educational Leadership please click the link below. 

Information Request

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Here are key opportunities you can partner with Prairie

We have launched our Campaign for Greater Impact to provide students with the very best learning opportunities and campus facilities for the decades ahead. 

In Phase One of this Campaign, we plan to invest in much-needed campus renewal, including: upgraded Infrastructure, a new Student Residence, Cafeteria, Worship Auditorium, and expanded Aviation Training Centre. A modern campus requires an investment that is bold, and even expensive, but each Campaign Project is strategic, and designed to enhance Prairie’s campus and student life experience.

Expansion of Prairie Aviation Training Centre

This expansion of PATC’s facility is a key project of Prairie’s Campaign for Greater Impact. It will increase the College’s capacity to train a new generation of Christian aviators to serve God in missions, and also address the growing need for trained pilots in the commercial aviation sector.

Scholarships & Education Fund

Invest in the next generation of missional professionals. Each year Prairie College distributes over $500,000 in scholarships and bursaries to students. We are grateful for each gift that reduces the burden of students’ tuition and allows students to fulfill their God-given professions.

Prison Bible Encounter Program

Encourage inmates in five institutions across Alberta to discover or reconnect with Jesus Christ. This fund assists the students studying the Certificate in Bible program with scholarships, resources for classes, and instruction. 

General Ministries

Prairie College is educating students to pursue a Biblical foundation for life and career.  Your contribution to this fund assists in minimizing the College’s general operating expenses.  

To allocate your gift, please select one of the donation buttons below.

New Masters of Christian Ministry Leadership launches in January!